Our Place On The Island by Erika Montgomery: Book Review

Our Place On The Island is a lovely story of three generations of women who gather one last time at the family’s large seaside cottage for the Grandmother’s upcoming wedding.

Acknowledgments:

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and Netgalley for the ARC of this book. The thoughts and opinions expressed here are my own.

From The Publisher:

For decades, the Campbell women have reunited at the family’s rambling seaside cottage known as Beech House to celebrate life’s many occasions. But this year, they will be called back to Martha’s Vineyard for a celebration of a different their beloved matriarch Cora is getting remarried. And all the town gossips are calling him the one who got away, years ago…

For renowned chef Mickey Campbell, this wedding isn’t just a welcome excuse to return to the place she first learned to cook at her grandmother’s side. It’s also a chance to regroup while she figures out a way to tell her smoldering head chef boyfriend that she’s mismanaged their restaurant into the red.

Mickey’s mother, Hedy, is still mourning the passing of her adored father three years earlier, and she isn’t sure she’s ready to welcome a new man into the fold―and she’s not certain her own thorny relationship with her mother will weather the storm of her upcoming marriage.

But everyone knows a woman’s heart holds more than meets the eye. For Cora, drawing her daughter and granddaughter back to Beech House isn’t just about a ceremony, but a chance to reveal a history she has kept close to her heart for decades. As the days leading up to the wedding unfold, secrets of Cora’s past come to light– a secret that will cause three generations of Campbell women to question marriage, motherhood, and ultimately learn to savor the delicious joy of following your own heart.

My Thoughts:

Our Place on the Island was a moving story about three generations of women who gather together at the Grandmother’s large beachside cottage for her upcoming wedding. The story is told in dual timelines – then when Cora is a young newlywed who moves into Beech House in Martha’s Vineyard and now as she is set to marry her second husband.

The characters are all well-developed with interesting backstories. Mickey is Cora’s Granddaughter who shares her Grandmother’s passion for cooking. She is a celebrated chef who has started her own restaurant. The restaurant has recently received rave reviews and business is booming. Mickey dreads telling her family that there is trouble with her business.

Hedy is Mickey’s Mother and is shocked to see her mother remarrying only three years after her father’s death. Hedy’s relationship with Cora is strained and she marvels at the relationship between Mickey and Cora. With a successful business of her own, she hasn’t given much time to relationships since the breakup of her marriage years ago. The groom’s son has caught her interest however.

The story of this family kept me engaged throughout. The author does a great job in describing the beauty of this area’s landscape, and contrasts this to the sometimes pompous style of the area’s residents. I appreciated the romances in the book and the satisfying conclusion.

This is a wonderful summer escape read for those readers who appreciate Women’s Fiction and I highly recommend it.

Other Books I’ve Reviewed Written By Erika Montgomery:

A Summer To Remember